The first cross derby in the Bundesliga for more than 17 years will take place on Saturday in Round 10. League leaders and double winners Sturm are clear favorites against GAK, who are still waiting for their first win since their return to the top flight. Salzburg, who have been in crisis lately, will be looking to bounce back with a home game against stragglers Altach. In Linz, Blau-Weiß welcomes the WAC to a battle of surprising teams. Start at 5:00 AM.
GAK will be looking for a longed-for release in the 200th match derby against their city rivals, who recently dispatched Ligue 1 giants Salzburg 5-0 at home. “We trained well this week,” GAK coach Gernot Messner asked the media ahead of the first meeting between the two arch-rivals in the Bundesliga since May 17, 2007. Defeats notwithstanding, in recent times, in the autumn of 2022 and 2023, they lost 0–1 and 2–3 in the Cup Round of 16.
Coaches and players avoided verbal barbs before the emotional game. “Hopefully the derby will be decided on the pitch and both fan camps will ensure a football festival. One for fan groups and families,” said Sturm coach Christian Illzer. For the first time under Ilzer, Sturm enjoy home advantage against their city rivals. It is very suitable for ticket distribution. Of the 3,800, a quarter of the group went to GAK fans. After the recent riots, stadium management and administration should be prepared accordingly. Glass walls, a mobile fence and hundreds of police officers aim to keep fans under control.
Expect a storming run against a great defense on the field. “We can’t stay behind, but there will be phases where that happens,” GAK coach Messner said. Ilzer tried to get his numerous national players back on track in two training sessions. The coach, who plays his third Champions League game against Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday, said it was his team’s responsibility to “quickly resume the run from the Salzburg game”.
Leading players from both sides are missing, with Jan Korenk Stankovic and Grigori Wuthrich (both Sturm) and Peter Filipovic and Markus Ruzek (GAK) missing. According to Ilzer, GAK “has so far been beaten below its face value”. The master coach said that meeting the first player to the last in the derby does not matter. “Of course we are the favourites, but GAK could be a more dangerous opponent.”
Red Bull Salzburg will be desperate to make amends after September and October. The Bulls have a chance to bounce back and appease their critics ahead of their Champions League game against Dinamo Zagreb (Wednesday) with a home game against Altach in late form. Not much has happened in Salzburg since the 2-3 loss at Rapid on September 1st. Sporting director Bernhard Schönbuchner and coach Pepijn Lijnders have been criticized, although they are still level with leader Sturm after dropping points.
Lijnders hopes the young team, shaken by setbacks, will remember the old strengths. “After everything that happened we won’t play the best game of our lives. But we have to defend everything we have. That’s the basis. That’s why we played so well at the beginning of the season,” said the Dutchman. ÖFB goalkeeper Alexander Schlager did not want to comment on the recall. The recently injured Moritz Gjergaard and Aleksa Tercic are back.
Altach was not in the least confident in the coaching effect against Salzburg’s over-the-top standard. Red Bull training facility product Fabio Ingolicze celebrates his debut on the sidelines. Last week he received an unhappy Joachim Standfest, whose side have fallen significantly behind after a good start in the league and are in second-to-last place, four points ahead of bottom side GAK and four points behind sixth. “It’s not primarily about the Salzburg decision,” Ingolich clarified. If the worst comes to the worst, you want to have a surprise. “We don’t want to restrict ourselves. We want to be bold and cheeky and throw them out,” said Ingolic, under whose guidance a game-changing paradigm must take place and be more aggressive against the ball. “You’ll see the first impulses in the first few weeks,” the 32-year-old assured.
The clash between the earlier surprise teams of the season takes place in Linz. Third-placed Blau-Weiß Linz welcome fourth-placed WAC and will look to clinch a place at the top of the table with a win – just one point behind the Upper Austrians, just like Wolfsberger. Lately, however, a bit of sand has fallen into gears at both clubs. The Blue-White managed just one point in their last two games, while the WAC suffered two losses.
Blue and White coach Gerald Scheiblehener is as confident as he is respectful of the Carinthians. “The WAC has a lot of talented young players, and it’s a top-six team,” Scheiblehener explained. “An opponent who is already a bit under the weather is coming, but wants to react. But with the situation on our ground, there will be a lot of potential,” the Upper Austrian added: “Hopefully it won’t be. A hally-galley game.”
WAC coach Dietmar Kühbauer, on the other hand, is looking for patience and some goals. “I think the team that scores first will walk off the field as winners,” Burgenlander said. With 21 goals, his side have scored more times than any other club this season, but have conceded 16 goals. “It will be a tough match and we have to be ready to defend well and set the tone up front,” Kohbauer demanded.
Wolfsburgers will be paying particular attention to Blue-White goaltender Ronivaldo. “It’s like wine, it just gets better and better over the years,” Kuhbauer explained. Ronivaldo, 35, has scored eight goals in the competition this season. Goalie Radek Wittek returned to the Linz goal just in time to recover from a knee injury. His replacement, Andreas Luks, will be out for several months, according to the club, as he needs shoulder surgery.
